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Offender Management Bill

I am grateful to the Minister for tabling the amendment. She introduced it by saying that the power the Government had been seeking was unusual and that they have ended up with a power that is not unusual. To say that the power originally sought was unusual is certainly an understatement. These, of course, are Henry VIII powers and, as the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee said, it looks especially carefully at such powers which enable the amendment of future Acts, as the full scope of the power cannot be ascertained when it is given. We also look very cautiously and carefully at such matters and we were surprised that the Government sought such a power in this event. The power as originally tabled was sufficiently broad to enable the Data Protection Act 1998 to be overridden and, of course, to amend future Acts. As the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee pointed out, the power to amend future Acts requires sufficient justification, which it found had not been provided on this occasion. I am glad that the Government thought fit to respond properly to the recommendations of the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee, but it shows that both that august committee and the House need to keep an eagle eye on the Government to make sure that they do not try the same thing again.